William geisbet



W. GEISERT.

BEER VENT.

(No Model..)

No. 345,583. Patented July 13, 1886..

WITNESSES:

INVENTO R:

By l zis flttorneys,

PhntwLllhograpM Wahinflm n. c.

side elevation of my improved vent.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM GEISERT,'OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BEER-VENT.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 345,583, dated July I3,1886.

\ Application filed April 28, 1886. Serial No. 200,459. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that L'VVILLIAM GEISERI, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented anImproved Beer-Vent, of which the following is a specification. g

1 My invention relates to the class of beervents which are constructedwith a shank to drive into the bung and a branch intheend of which avalve is placed.

The principal aim of the invention is to provide a vent the valve ofwhich will not become stuck to its seat by the foam or beer gettingaccess to it.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings is a Fi 2 is a vertical sectionthereof, showing it a aplied to the keg. Fig". 3 is an under-side plan,and Fig. 4 shows in detail the separate parts of the vent-valve and itsseat. Fig. 5 is asection of a modification, and Fig. 6 is a diagram ofakeg standing on the rack with my improved vent applied to it. 1

The outer shell, A, of my improved vent consists of a straight body andan inclined arm or branch. The body B has a tapering shank, O, todriveinto the bung,and a thickened head, D, as usual. The branch E extendslaterally upward from the body at about the angle shown, and its end,which turns down, is fitted with the vent-valvel In this pendent end isscrewed t-he-valve-chamb'er F. (Shown detached in Fig. 4.) The .valve Gis placed in the hollow of the chamber D, and a plug, H, is screwed intoits upper end, thus confining the valve in place. The chamber F has ahole, 0, through its bottom, in which hole works loosely the triangularstem (2 of the valve, and it is formed with a V-sh-aped seat, 0. The.valve G is a disk with a flat ,under surface, which is faced by asoft-rubber washer, f, which comes against the V-edgcdseat, and is heldin a groove, 9, Fig. at, in the valve-stem. The plug-1'1 has a hole, h,through it, and a groove or notch, t, on its under side, leading intothis hole. When the valve G is carried up by an inflow of air,-itstrikes the plug H;. but the flow of air is not cut oft, since the airmay pass through the groove 6 to the hole h.

Any pressure within the keg forces the valve G down upon its seat, andthe V-edged seat, in-

denting therubber washer, makes a tight j oint. At the same time thereis only a small contacting surface, so that there is but littleliability of the valve becoming stuck to the seat.

It is very important in a beer-vent to pre vent the sticky foam from thebeer from gaining access to the valve. WVhen the vent is firstdriven,there is a pressure in the keg,and the foam is forced up into thepassage of the vent, where it presently condenses. If it cannot then runback and can. get to the valve, it is liable to cement the valve to itsseat, so that later, when the pressure in the keg is exhausted, thevalve will not open to admit air. -In

order to prevent this result, I form the branch E toascend from the bodyA at a considerable angle, as shown, and make the hole It through theplug H at the highest point, so that'from the margin of this hole thereis a constant slope to the body 13, even when the vent is tilted to thegreatest extent that it is customary to tilt beer-kegs while drawingfrom them. This inclination should not be less than seventy degrees fromthe axis of the body B; but it may be much steeper, even to sixtydegrees or less. The angle shown is about sixty-seven degrees, asindicated in Fig. 5. Consequently the condensed foam will drain backinto the keg, no matter in which direction the branch is turned indriving the vent. The proper method in driving vents of this characteris to turn the branch back toward the upper end of the keg; but manycareless or ignorant bar-tenders habitually turn it toward the front,this being the most convenient way, since the branch serves as a handlein driving. With my vent the condensed foam will drain back into thekeg, even when the Vent is driven in this way.

I am aware that vents have been made witli"=-- the branch extending atright angles; but these will not drain properly unless they are drivenwith the branch turned to the rear. If turned as shown in Fig. 6, thecondensed foam will run into the valve-chamber and frequently cement thevalve fast. I I am aware, also, that vents have been made with twobranches meeting in the manner of an eye or loop, with the ventvalve attheir point of junction in the axis of the shank. I make no claim tovents of this character. In my vent the valve. is placed at theextremity of an arm extending laterally and upwardly from the main bodyof the sheet.

The stem d of the valve G should project below the chamber F, so that bypressing it with the finger the valve may be unseated and any excess ofpressure in the keg may be permitted to escape. This is desirable inplaces where the beer is drawn rapidly, for which purpose Iuse theconstruction shown in Fig. 5. For use in saloons, where the beer isdrawn slowly, and where it is desirable to retain the pressure, I usethe construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The shank C is hollowed out atthe bottom, forming a seat, j, beneath which is a rubber ball, J, whichis held in place by a plug, K, screwed into the shank beneath it. Thisplug has a nick on its under side to receive ascrew-driver, a hole, k,through it, and a cross-groove, Z, in its upper side, the function ofthe latter being to permit air to flow down around the ball-valve. henthe vent is first driven, the pressure within the keg instantly pressesup the ball against its seat, thus preventing escape of pressure, andkeeping the foam from getting up into the branch E. \Vhen the pressureis reduced, the ball drops back, after which the vent operates the sameas though no ball were used.

I elaim-- 1. A beer-vent the shell of which is formed with a body orshank adapted to be driven into the bung, and abranch extendinglaterally therefrom at an upward inclination, as shown and described, incombination with a valvechamber screwed into the upper end of saidbranch and projecting above the interior thereof and communicatingtherewith by an opening the margins of which slope away from it,substantially as set forth, whereby the condenscd foam will drain awayfrom said opening back into the keg.

2. ,A beer-vent consisting of a shell, A, a vent-valve, G, and acheck-valve, J, adapted to be seated upwardly by a pressurein the k cg,combined substantially as described.

3. A beervent consisting of a shell, A, formed with a seat, j, andhaving a plug, K, screwed into its shank, in combination with a ball, J,and a vent-valve, G, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM GEISERT.

Vitnesses:

G-Eo. BAINTON, GEORGE H. FRASER.

